The Millerton News Opinion/Viewpoint

A time of transition, a time of change: Annual graduations signify more than just a rite of passage. Changes of great magnitude, transformational, happen right on the heels of graduations, making them bittersweet for all those celebrating the successful conclusion of one phase of their lives.

There are some friends left behind, some friends made for life. Some teachers who will never be forgotten, whose lessons will carry their graduates forward and inspire them to achieve good things for the rest of their lives. Others will be too soon forgotten.

Motorcycles had a bad boy allure for me in my younger days. I almost got my learner’s permit. Before I went forward with this I came to a realization: I do not like to get wet or cold. This slowed me down. I would still have to have a car to get to work in the winter and the rain. It did not seem quite so attractive anymore.

What do the biker gangs do in bad weather? I never see them huddled under an overpass looking like a pack of wet cats. Maybe, like baseball players, they just don’t work in the rain.

The 24th Air Force division is responsible for conducting U.S. defense cyber operations.

Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, vice commander of the Air Force Space Command, said, “We can’t defend the whole network just like we can’t defend all the air domain. Instead we defend the portion we need to operate in. We’ve done it already to assure [support for] Predator [in Afghanistan and Iraq] and space launch operations.”

Once you've created an account, you will be given a free 30-day subscription to the site where you can view all content unrestricted. After 30 days, you can extend your account by purchasing a subscription.

If you are already a print subscriber, click here to give us your contact information, and we will confirm your active subscription and give you a password to access the website.

If one is to judge by the tone of the television commentators, America must be deep in a crisis. Long stretches of cable time are devoted to the breaking news. Each detail is presented as more grave and consequential for the republic than the last. The fate of the country surely hangs in the balance.

The Harlem Valley is fortunate to have a new neighbor in Hudson River Housing, which has just opened its newest satellite office at the North East Community Center (NECC) on South Center Street in Millerton. The office is home to the NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center of Dutchess County, which will serve the northeastern part of the county.

I recently became aware that birds, like people, have different walks.

Boing! Boing! Boing! That would be a sparrow and sometimes a robin. Robins also do the road runner, a rapid fire racing gait that suddenly pulls up short.

Crows are strollers and only occasionally hoppers. Crows actually seem to prefer walking to flying. They spend a lot of time on the ground plodding along, looking to the left and to the right for something good to eat. This is not as hard as it sounds. Crows are not real fussy.

Author and columnist Erma Bombeck once compared volunteers to yachts, noting in admiration that “they could stay moored where it’s safe and still justify their being, but they choose to cut through the rough waters” for a nobler purpose.

Government benefits considerably from citizen volunteers. In recent months the county Legislature has made appointments to several important committees and boards, with good representation from our region.

Once you've created an account, you will be given a free 30-day subscription to the site where you can view all content unrestricted. After 30 days, you can extend your account by purchasing a subscription.

If you are already a print subscriber, click here to give us your contact information, and we will confirm your active subscription and give you a password to access the website.